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Scientists Detect Possible Illegal Emissions of CFC-11
Mysterious rise in emissions of ozone-damaging chemical
Scientists have detected an unexpected rise in atmospheric levels of CFC-11, a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) highly damaging to the ozone layer. Banned by the Montreal Protocol in 1987, CFC-11 was seen to be declining as expected but that fall has slowed down by 50% since 2012.
Researchers say their evidence shows it's likely that new, illegal emissions of CFC-11 are coming from East Asia. These could hamper the recovery of the ozone hole and worsen climate change.
An unexpected and persistent increase in global emissions of ozone-depleting CFC-11 (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0106-2) (DX)
Someone, Somewhere, is Making a Banned Chemical that Destroys the Ozone Layer
Emissions of a banned, ozone-depleting chemical are on the rise, a group of scientists reported Wednesday, suggesting someone may be secretly manufacturing the pollutant in violation of an international accord.
Emissions of CFC-11 have climbed 25 percent since 2012, despite the chemical being part of a group of ozone pollutants that were phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by ledow on Thursday May 17 2018, @07:37AM (5 children)
Gosh, I wonder where all our "recycled" old fridges, freezers, etc. are ending up when they die?
(Score: 3, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Thursday May 17 2018, @09:34PM (4 children)
Gosh, I wonder where all our "recycled" old fridges, freezers, etc. are ending up when they die?
The EPA requires that refrigerant be recovered during recycling [epa.gov] under the Clean Air Act.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 18 2018, @06:42AM
I think he meant that they were sent to East Asia for recycling where following responsible and stringent procedures (in line with the USA's Clean Air Act) they safely recovered all the refrigerant... ;)
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/china-recycling-waste-ban_us_5a684285e4b0dc592a0dd7b9 [huffingtonpost.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ledow on Friday May 18 2018, @07:41AM (2 children)
Yeah, so do all the UK regulations. Things like WEEE.
Would you like me to tell you a story? The last guy I used for WEEE disposal told me what he does with the stuff. He loads up the van, takes it to Heathrow Airport Cargo Terminal. There's a guy he meets there who used to pay him £1 for every CRT monitor he brought. They would sign all the WEEE paperwork and load it on a plane.
What they DON'T document is that it went on a plane to a country without such regulations where it was landfilled. The WEEE guy didn't care. I didn't particularly care. We were both holding paperwork that said it had been legally disposed of with a registered carrier. I bet even the guy loading them on the plane has some assurance from, say, India or somewhere that they would be disposed of properly. But along the line, someone really doesn't care.
And it costs a LOT to take to ship a CRT half way around the world and dispose of it properly and safely in controlled facilities. Even if you assume they were getting some subsidy for doing so. And then to pay the guy with the plane, the guy his £1, etc. Even the guy with the van uses to charge us and/or take a box of cables to melt for copper to pay for his fuel costs, otherwise he wouldn't pick up.
There are also myriad news stories of researchers attached GPS units to waste like that and seeing what happens. Invariably it ends up in landfill in China, India, Africa, etc. - anywhere that doesn't care and doesn't have such environmental regulations, where they don't even care about signing to say they disposed of it correctly because it's not their jurisdiction that would give a shit.
In the UK, we now have rules that the people selling you a fridge (excluding private sellers) have to be able to take your old fridge away for you. I'm sure there's probably a facility or two somewhere that does recycle them. But I guarantee you that the little electrical shops that are required to dispose of one fridge for every one they sell are using the cheapest method possible - and that there's always someone willing to break the law somewhere for a quick buck.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 18 2018, @03:18PM (1 child)
So you broke the law and damaged the ozone layer at the same time. Great job!
(Score: 2) by ledow on Friday May 18 2018, @05:12PM
That's just it.
I broke no law whatsoever.
I HAD to obtain and file official paperwork before I could dispose of anything. Paperwork which guaranteed they would dispose of it in a controller manner compliant to WEEE regs.
It was all above board, 100% official. I'm sure the guy would deny his story (or the Heathrow guy his) if questioned, but literally the certificate is still filed somewhere. Once you get that signed form, who is to know, and who's checking, what's actually happening? Apparently nobody. If the guy hadn't hinted at it, how would I ever know? He could be the world's biggest liar, or he could be telling the truth.
But I have a legitimate disposal notice from him, that could form prima facie evidence of correct disposal on my part in a court of law, where he promises to dispose of it responsibly. And he has once from the airport guy. And I bet the airport guy has one from whoever he ships it to. And you can be sure, such an operation is entirely "legit" inside the bounds of my country (the UK) and it's some foreign guy who's signed off to break a law that doesn't affect him and he couldn't care less about.
This is the problem. Nobody checks. I bet the fridge thing is the same.